


The worst irrational decision of my life, by Mettaton

by isissa



Series: Mettaton and NEO [3]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Anime References, Domestic, Fluff, M/M, PDA, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-06
Updated: 2016-01-08
Packaged: 2018-05-12 04:56:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5653207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isissa/pseuds/isissa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Meeting up with Neo was beginning to be a near daily occurrence for Mettaton now. The two robots were growing closer day by day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I messed up

 

 

Meeting up with Neo was beginning to be a near daily occurrence for Mettaton now. Neo's room looked much more lively (and pink) ever since the two had been able to decorate it, but all eyes in the room were drawn to the television screen. Neo and Mettaton were sitting on Neo's couch (Neo insisted he'd charge on the couch or just up against the wall, so they got a larger couch to make up for lack of a bed) sharing the same blanket and marathon watching some series Mettaton just could not work out the name of. The lab was dead silent except for the moderately loud anime blaring in front of the two robots.

 

They didn't need a blanket, but Neo said it would make him more comfortable, so they did. They didn't need to share the same blanket, but Neo had specifically brought only one from upstairs, so they did. Neither of them really mentioned it, but Mettaton's proximity seemed to bring Neo some sense of comfort, so Mettaton was fine with it. When the particularly drawn out action scenes bored Mettaton, his eyes had a tendency to wander, glancing around the room, but also at Neo's enthused expression. Every slight grin to excited fist-pump in reaction to events on screen gave Ex a rush of giddy feelings he couldn't quite pin down. Mettaton wanted to shuffle closer to Neo, so he did.

 

Neo noticed Ex moving and assumed he was getting up at first, looking a little wounded. As he shuffled closer though, Neo smiled. As they closed the gap between them to just a few centimetres, Neo became very aware of Mettaton's presence. His eyes flickered back to the screen, but caught a glance at Mettaton now and then. Surprisingly, the two of them were silent, absorbing the atmosphere around them. Neo felt like he could just stay like this for hours, so he did.

 

##

 

It was the early hours of the morning, four or five, before Mettaton noticed the little warning lights flashing in Neo's LCD eyes. They were there to remind people around Neo that his battery was running low, Mettaton had the same function. Alphys installed it on Mettaton after he had a tendency to push himself too hard, and Neo must have gotten it, too. Mettaton didn't see Neo move to plug himself in, so he spoke up.

 

"Honey, you're running low." Neo froze up like a deer in headlights before glancing in Mettaton's direction.

 

"So you noticed, huh...?" Neo chuckled softly a bit. "Mm, they've been going off for a little while now. I think...an hour?"

 

"Are you trying to run yourself flat, Neo? Come on, get up." Mettaton slid out of the blanket and off the couch, expecting Neo to do the same. Neo pushed himself up off the couch, took a step and then stumbled forward. A pair of gloved hands reached out to catch him before he could hit the ground, pulling him back up to a standing position. Mettaton's hands rested with one on his shoulder and one on his hip. "Darling, you should have mentioned this earlier."

 

Neo bit his lip and allowed Mettaton to guide him over to the wall where Neo could plug himself in. He ghosted over the small of Neo's back, opening a hidden port there and handing him the plug for his charger. "Can you do it darling? I don't want to intrude."

 

Neo nodded, gently taking the charger from Ex and lining it up with his port, pressing it in with a tired sigh. "I have to power down now, thank you for watching anime with me tonight..." Neo mumbled, suppressing a yawn.

 

"It was my pleasure." It really was. "I'll see you tomorrow, most likely."

 

"Bye, Mettaton..." Neo waved him out the door. Mettaton left Neo's room and decided to just sleep on the old couch next to Neo's room instead.

 

##

 

The next morning Mettaton woke up to the sound of something smashing to pieces. He stood up immediately, dashing out of the room he was in and towards the source of the sound. It lead him upstairs, where Alphys looked ready to cry in front of the remains of a line of test tubes. Judging from the spread of glass, one might have exploded?

 

"Doctor, what happened?" In response, Alphys let out a huge sob. Mettaton strode over, eyeing the ground for glass he might slip on. He turned Alphys to face him and was relieved to see eye goggles strapped to her face, but noticed a small cut on her cheek. "Oh my stars, Alphy. You hurt yourself."

 

Steps from downstairs grew louder as Neo entered the room, fan whirring loudly in his chest. "Doctor Alphys?!" His eyes flickered over the shattered glass throughout the room and his fan spun even faster. "Are you okay? What happened? Is that blood?"

 

"I just messed up a month's work," Alphys managed to choke out between sobs. "I was up all night, so I wasn't paying enough attention..." Mettaton stroked her unbloodied cheek with his thumb.

 

"You pushed yourself too hard, sweetie. Neo, can you get a washcloth from the bathroom?"

 

Neo practically sprinted off, returning in seconds with a cloth. He pat down Alphys' cheek with it. "Is there any g-glass left inside?"

 

"I don't think so." Alphys mumbled, blushing from the attention both robots were giving to her and the worried looks on their faces. "Thank you..."

 

"Jeeze, what am I going to do with you two. You have to start sleeping regularly, Alphys."

 

"But with the time I have to meet my deadlines-"

 

"Your work is only going to suffer. I demand six hours sleep every twenty four hours, I'll make sure Neo keeps as eye on you. It might motivate him to take a break himself."

 

Neo grimaced. "Mettaton, it's no big deal-"

 

"Or I'm going to enforce it. No more arguments. We have a lab to clean right now, anyway." Mettaton busied himself with wandering around the room, picking up shards of glass in his hands. Neo did the same, insisting Alphys let them do it so she couldn't hurt herself trying to pick up glass again. The reptile resolved to go over her notes, figuring out where to go from here. A few minutes passed with no dialogue across the room, just the gentle sounds of both robots footsteps and clinking glass. Once they were satisfied they had picked up everything they could find, the glass went into a waste bin and Mettaton excused himself for a few minutes.

 

Neo and Alphys sat beside one another at her desk, the dinosaur scribbling onto a notepad with a pen that was running out of ink. Neo noticed her shaking it to move the ink around and brought her another one without prompt, settling back down to watch her work. Neo's presence upstairs was a rarity, but Alphys enjoyed the company. When Alphys seemed to hit a roadblock in her work, Neo decided to speak up.

 

"Do you want to watch anime with me tonight?"

 

Alphys turned her head, eyes widening in surprise. "You're inviting me? That's a first, Neo. You don't have to force yourself."

 

Neo shook his head. "It's more fun with other people, besides Mettaton isn't very interested in talking about romcom. He just looks at me most of the time."

 

Alphys cocked an eyebrow at that. "He stares at you?"

 

"No...not really staring. Just looking now and then." Neo paused. "Is that weird?"

 

Alphys shook her head quickly, pushing on a shaky smile. "N-Not at all. It's not weird."

 

Neo shrugged. "Alright, if you say so Doctor." He turned his attention to the notepad on the desk. "So what's this all about?"

 

A few hours passed just like that, but as Neo continued to chat idly with Alphys about her project, he could see her eyes drooping, energy draining little by little. Alphys wasn't going to stay awake much longer, so Neo decided to put her off to bed. "Doctor Alphys, you really should be retiring for the night."

 

Alphys' eyes fluttered open. "What makes you say that?"

 

"You fell asleep for a second there, for one..."

 

Alphys grimaced, pressing her hands together. "Ah, is that so...um..." Neo gave her a pleading look, pressing his hand onto her shoulder.

 

"You won't make it through the night, come on."

 

Alphys sighed, shuffling off her seat and tailing after Neo who was taking his time walking to her room. "Thank you for the offer of tonight, Neo. I'll see you tomorrow. Maybe we can hang out then?"

 

"It's fine." He opened her bedroom door and let Alphys step inside. "Mettaton has been charging all day, he'll be up for a movie or two before bed."

 

Alphys nodded, brows knit. "Okay, but I will make it up to you." The pointy robot waved her off and began to walk back to his room. The lab was surprisingly cold and quiet this late at night, but Neo didn't mind it. The peaceful atmosphere left him to his thoughts for a minute or so, taking his time to return to his room. When he finally slid the door open and peered inside, Mettaton was waiting for him on the couch, filing down his (metal) nails. "Hello gorgeous, is Alphys coming along too?"

 

Neo raised his eyebrow, curious as to how Mettaton knew to wait for him. "No, she's exhausted. Can't just plug herself in, I guess."

 

"Poor dear...having a form like that is a lot of work. Well, that means it's just us. What would you like to put on, darling?" Mettaton hopped off the couch and began to browse through the pile of DVDs strewn about infront of the television set. Neo joined him, hesitant due to Mettaton's enthusiasm. Eventually they settled on a western human movie, sitting next to each other on the couch. With about a person's width between them, they settled into near silence, Mettaton sometimes making idle chatter.

 

As the pacing of the movie began to drag on a bit, Neo noticed Mettaton's gaze flickering over to him every so often. He felt his cheeks grow a little warm at the attention and he shuffled slightly in his seat. "Are you feeling okay Mettaton?" Neo asked, voice barely above a whisper.

 

Mettaton looked surprised, turning back to the television. "Just fine, darling."

 

"If you want to go home, that's okay-"

 

"Please, darling, I'd tell you if that was the case. I'm enjoying myself, so don't worry a bit."

 

Neo nodded in response, chewing on his bottom lip just lightly. A few minutes passed before he saw Mettaton glance over at him again. Another minute after that, he sensed the space between them growing smaller. As he looked over, Mettaton had indeed moved closer, their hips just centimetres apart and Mettaton's hand resting next to Neo's on the couch. Neo didn't say anything, but his cheeks were definitely dusted pink now. Mettaton didn't move his eyes away from the television screen for another few minutes, before all of a sudden turning to face Neo. Part of his body twisted with his gaze, so even though they were sitting next to one another, legs outstretched on the pulled out couch, Neo could see most of Mettaton. The two held eye contact for a few seconds before Neo's eyes flickered away, shying away from the intense look Mettaton was giving him.

 

"Is everything okay?" Neo asked, both robot's fans whirring loudly in their chests. Mettaton's hand flexed a bit, as if he was nervous.

 

"Neo, I..." Mettaton's voice tapered off as quickly as he had begun talking, his eyes flickering down to the space between them. Without warning, he pushed himself out of his sitting position and over to Neo, straddling the pointier robot's legs and resting his hands on Neo's shoulders. Neo leant back into the backrest of the couch, pushing on an uneasy, nervous smile. The air was thick with tension and Mettaton's gaze kept going between Neo's eye and his chest, a soft pink glow on his cheeks. His hand fumbled a bit with Neo's shoulder, and just as Neo was about to speak, Mettaton leant forward.

 

Mettaton's eye fluttered shut as he pressed his lips against Neo's, but Neo's eye was open wide in shock. The feeling of Mettaton's lips sent a shiver down his spine and for a moment he was frozen, completely unable to process what was happening. He found the feeling of Mettaton pushed up against him, lips connected ever so gently and his weight resting on his lap comfortable, enjoyable, actually. Mettaton pulled back slowly, the kiss between them fleeting and gentle. It took him a moment before he could look at Neo's face, but Mettaton's giddy expression fell when he saw Neo's.

 

Neo moved his hand up to his face, slowly, touching two fingers to his lips, then looking up at Mettaton. "...D-Did...that...w-was that..."

 

Mettaton felt a surge of regret run through his circuits and he quickly backed off of Neo, stumbling backward onto the floor where he landed on his ass. He climbed to his feet and glanced at the door. "Neo, that was- uh, forget that okay? I'm sorry about k-k-k-ki-" he couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence. "...I've got to get up early tomorrow for a shoot bye!" Mettaton shot out of the room at full speed, sprinting all the way outside the lab. Once he breached the front entrance and entered into the night outside, he saw the steam from his mechanical breath in front of him, panting much like a human would. Heat welled up through his chest, but he waited until he was a block away from the lab to stop, leaning up against a building he didn't recognise, head rested on his forearm.

 

_Oh fuck Mettaton, what the hell did you do that for..._ he berated himself internally, unable to quiet the surge of thoughts running through his head. A brief flash of what Neo's lips felt like ran through his mind and he shivered, squeezing his eye shut tight. As it occurred to him that he might have just made the worst irrational decision of his life, he slammed his foot down on the concrete. "Fuck!" 

 

Inside the lab, Neo was in a similar state, just barely managing to stumble out of his room and over to Alphys'. He knocked on the door a few times, calling out her name with a shaky voice. Alphys eventually answered, beckoning him inside. As Alphys' door slid open, the dinosaur seemed to wake up immediately from her groggy state. She could hear his fans from across the room and the dim lights didn't do much to obscure the pink flush of his cheeks. "Neo? Are you okay?" Neo almost jogged right in, pacing around the room for a minute or so. After a few false starts, he managed to speak to her. 

 

"About...M-Mettaton...it's about Mettat-ton..." he stumbled out, unable to keep still. "He...and I...we...Alphys, oh my god-" 

 

Alphys' overtired brain was not ready for this kind of wakeup call, but she did her best to understand Neo's mumbling. "What happened with you and Mettaton? He didn't freak out on you, did he? I thought we were past that-" 

 

"He kissed me!" 

 

Alphys was prepared for a lot of things, but she was not prepared to hear that.


	2. I thought it'd be easier this way.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> whOOPS there was a second chapter to this fic. I should have specified that earlier. I have no idea who is going to actually read this, now. oh well.

 

"He kissed you?" Alphys echoed.

 

"Yes! He kissed me, Alphys!"

 

Alphys' eyes grew wide and she pointed to her cheek. "H-Here?"

 

Neo shook his head.

 

She pointed to her forehead. "Here?"

 

Neo slapped his forehead. "On the lips, Doctor!"

 

Alphys rubbed her palm with her thumb, shuffling about on her bed. "Oh my god, he kissed you on full mouth..." She repeated it a few times, as if to drill it into her head.

 

"Y-Yes? That's what I said, I-" Neo interrupted himself with a frustrated growl. "I don't...I don't understand why he..."

 

Alphys shrugged. "He likes you." She seemed much calmer now, sliding off her bed and walking over to Neo. She was much shorted that him, so she patted his arm in the most comforting manner she could. "He's been looking at you, and talking about you, and visiting you all the time, right? So he likes you." Alphys' face grew red. "My best friend and my favorite creation, oh my god!"

 

Neo didn't share her enthusiasm, looking even more uncomfortable than before. "Alphys, I don't know if we...if I...if we should...I mean...he's a star, and I'm...I'm just a no name robot, you know?"

 

Alphys looked serious for a moment, holding eye contact with Neo, a stern look sweeping over her features. "Neo," she began, "you are my finest creation, my best work, but more than that, you're one of my closest friends." she reached up just high enough to tussle his hair. "You're more than worth it."

 

He didn't look entirely convinced, but the robot decided to drop it anyway. "It's too late, anyway. He ran out after he kissed me. He must have been disgusted...it looked like that, anyway."

 

Alphys' brow furrowed. "He ran out on you? Oh, he's gonna get it later..." She took the taller by the hand, storming out of the lab with him trailing behind her.

 

"Doctor Alphys? It's like three in the morning, what are you doing?"

 

"We're gonna go find him, and I'm going to make him apologise."

 

Alphys' uncharacteristic determination stunned Neo into silence, and he let her pull him along. About half way through the walk to Mettaton's office, Alphys regretted leaving in her lab coat. The air nipped at her skin but she didn't turn to go home, not even mentioning it until they were a few steps from the doors of Mettaton's office building.

 

As they stepped inside, Alphys realised how tight her grip on Neo's hand had been the whole walk there. She quickly let go and pat his hand a few times, an apologetic look on her face. Neo didn't seem to mind, focusing his attention on the marble lobby they found themselves in. Mettaton had a room on the top floor (obviously), but unlike his buildings underground he didn't own the whole thing...yet. The surface world had a rough economy, and Mettaton needed time to build his influence. Not to mention, it was difficult for a robot to be taken seriously, considering how he was part of the monster's world. Alphys fumbled with a keycard that was in her lab pocket, sliding it through the reader at the front door. She shuffled inside, up the elevator in the lobby and to the top floor. Neo spent the elevator ride shuffling slightly in his place.

 

"Alphys, it's really late...shouldn't we leave it til tomorrow?"

 

Alphys briefly considered it. "No, we're here now." She said, as if she had never heard what Neo said at all. The elevator doors slid open at the top floor and the doors slid open, right into the loungeroom of Mettaton's room.

 

 

Earlier that evening, Mettaton had walked himself home, (more of a powerwalk, really) a feeling of dread running throughout his circuits. After kissing and then running away from someone who was so important to him (when did that happen? When did Neo get this important? He couldn't remember.) he felt awful. The brief journey through the silent night lead him to his warm, secure abode, where he lay on his bed, pitying himself and regretting such a dumb decision. Unfortunately, the door to his warm, secure abode opened about twenty minutes into his pity party, and the microphones in his head could just pick up the sound of Neo's fans and Alphys' shuffling. He sat up, peaceful demeanor completely dissolved in seconds. He paced around his room once or twice before poking his head out the bedroom door.

 

"Hello Alphys, hello Neo. Make yourself at home, darlings, I'll be one minute." His shining smile was painted across his features, but his voice betrayed him, a tinge of nervousness carrying through. Back in his room, he mumbled encouragement to himself. "Alright Mettaton, you can do this. Just explain what happened and send them on their way." He patted his hands to his cheek before stepping out, forcing back that smile again. "Sorry darlings, I forgot to do something."

 

"Do what?" Alphys asked, the aggression in her voice throwing Mettaton off a bit.

 

"Something."

 

"Right. Suuuuure."

 

Mettaton swallowed, glancing between the two of them. "Okay. Um." He walked further into the loungeroom, the entire apartment sparkling white and brightly lit despite the time. He sat down on a couch just in front of Alphys and Neo. His hands were wedged between his knees and his star smile was beginning to falter. "Neo, about the k-kiss, I just got a little excited. The human movie, I was starstruck, and...you know. So there's no need to worry about what this...changes."

 

Neo nodded. "See, that's what I thought, we can go home Alph-"

 

"No...no that's not good enough." Alphys mumbled. Mettaton cringed, grimacing and looking to the side of her.

 

"Alphy, it's fine, it didn't mean anything, so-"

 

"Is that what you really think?" Alphys pushed, eyes glowing with something Mettaton couldn't place.

 

"Alphy, I..." he frowned. "It is. It didn't mean anything." After saying that he bit down on his silicone tongue, hard. It didn't break the "skin", but he felt the sting of it. He stole a glance at Neo, who looked absolutely heartbroken. Mettaton resisted the sudden urge to vomit as regret tugged at him.

 

"Mettaton, you're..." The small reptile woman shook with anger. "you're the worst! Absolutely the worst!" She pressed her slim claws to her eyes, blinking back tears. "How could you do that to Neo?"

 

That urge to vomit again. Mettaton glared at the ground, unable to look up. He bit his lip and held back the urge to speak. Alphys tugged on Neo's hand and muttered a simple "we're leaving" before heading for the elevator. Mettaton couldn't keep up his farce any longer, running after them immediately, taking Neo's shoulders in his hands to stop the two of them. Alphys and Neo turned around, meeting with Mettaton's flushed face.

 

"I didn't mean what I said!" Mettaton practically shouted, eyes locking with Neo's. Neo was already quivering a bit from before, but having Mettaton yell in his face with such a desperate expression threw him off even more. "I just, _fuck_ ," the shorter robot squeezed his eye shut. "when I kissed you, it was because I care about you, a lot – I don't know when I started caring this much but I do!" he babbled, still shouting. "I thought – I thought if I could make it go away it'd be easier, I wouldn't feel so damn uneasy w-when you look at me, and I, I just..." he let out a tired sigh. "I thought it'd be easier this way. But it hurts."

 

"Mettaton..." Neo mumbled, holding Mettaton's outstretched arm with his hand softly. He sniffled, "you don't have t-" the robot was interrupted by his own sobs, and he began crying. Alphys, standing to the side was in shock, but managed to give Neo a pat on the back. Mettaton immediately pulled Neo into a hug, one hand on his back and the other resting on the back of his head, not quite moving through his hair.

 

Neo cried into Mettaton's shoulder, just able to mumble out a few words. "I'm sorry I'm s-so unstable." Mettaton just gently shushed him, actually stroking his hair a few times.

 

"You have nothing to apologise for, darling."

 

Alphys was holding Neo's hand as she watched the two of them lean on each other figuratively and literally, exhaustion affecting her too much to do much of anything else.

 

"I'll be honest with you as much as possible from now on, Neo. I promise."

**Author's Note:**

> I actually blushed while writing this. I cannot believe...
> 
> if this chapter seems a little rushed, I am really very sorry. I was so excited writing this that I just could not hold myself back. It took me two days to compose myself enough to make sure it was going to be high enough quality to post here.


End file.
